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Psycho (automaton)
Psycho was an automaton created by John Nevil Maskelyne with the assistance of John Algernon Clarke and first shown to audiences at The Egyptian Hall, London, in January 1875. Psycho, fashioned to look like a miniature Indian man, sat cross-legged on a wooden chest. The chest sat on a clear glass cylinder. Under his hand was a rack for thirteen playing cards. The wooden chest he sat on, would be opened and shown that it was much too small to conceal a person. Psycho would play a game of Whist by moving his hand along the rack of cards in front of him, lifting a card and handing it to Maskelyne. It was much debated in the press about whether it was a pure mechanical invention or not. Though the exact mechanism for operating Psycho remains unclear, it was like through the use of bellows forcing air up through the glass cylinder. The actual operation of the automaton is thought to have been performed by Maskelyne's stage partner George Cooke. Psycho gave his last performance in 1910 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Nevil Maskelyne
John Nevil Maskelyne (22 December 1839 – 18 May 1917) was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions are still performed today. His book ''Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill'' is considered a classic overview of card sharp practices. In 1914 he founded the Occult Committee, a group to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud". Early life Maskelyne was born on 22 December 1839 at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England to John Nevil Maskelyne (1800–1875), a saddler, and his wife Harriet (1812-1871), née Brunsdon. He was baptized at St Lawrence, Swindon, near, Cheltenham, on 26 January 1840. He trained as a watchmaker. Maskelyne claimed to be a descendant of Nevil Maskelyne (1732–1811), the Astronomer Royal; although some sources repeat this, other rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Museum Of London
London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by amalgamating the collection previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Guildhall Museum (founded in 1826) and that of the London Museum (1912–1976), London Museum (founded in 1911). From 1976 to 2022, its main site was in the City of London on London Wall, close to the Barbican Centre, part of the Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and '70s to redevelop a bomb-damaged area of the city. In 2015, the museum revealed plans to move to the General Market Building at the nearby Smithfield, London, Smithfield site. Reasons for the proposed move included the claim that the current site was difficult for visitors to find, and that by expanding, from 17,000 square metres to 27,000, a greater proportion of the mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History In 1674, '' The Complete Gamester'' described the game Ruff and Honours as the most popular descendant of Triumph played in England during the 17th century. Whist is described as a simpler, more staid, version of Ruff and Honours with the twos removed instead of having a stock. In the 18th century, Whist, played with a 52 card pack, superseded Ruff and Honours. The game takes its name from the 17th-century word ''whist'' (or ''wist'') meaning ''quiet'', ''silent'', ''attentive'', which is the root of the modern ''wistful''. Whist was first played on scientific principles by gentlemen in the Crown Coffee House in Bedford Row, London, around 1728, according to Daines Barrington. Edmond Hoyle, suspected to be a member of this group, began to tutor wealthy young gentlemen in the game and published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houdini
Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as Harry "Handcuff" Houdini on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as Houdini tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists, pursuing a persona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gaughan
John Gaughan (born 1940) is an American manufacturer of magic acts and equipment for magicians based in Los Angeles, California. His style of work is classic, not based heavily on machinery and technology. Professional illusionists have noted his work, such as David Blaine, who has several times called him "a magical genius". Jamy Ian Swiss called him "America's premiere illusion builder". Gaughan has built illusions for magicians and other performers including Harry Blackstone Jr., Doug Henning, Alice Cooper, Michael Jackson, Alan Wakeling, Mark Wilson, Criss Angel, David Copperfield, David Blaine, Simon Drake, and The Doors, and is responsible for the construction of dozens of major acts. He also has constructed a replica of the 18th century chess-playing machine, The Turk, which often tours chess conferences. Gaughan created David Copperfield's flying illusion, which is notable for its graceful motion and unencumbered appearance. Gaughan held a patent on a method for cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Penrose
Scott Penrose (born 1969 in Essex) is an English magician and magic consultant and is the son of magician John Penrose. Penrose is a former President of The Magic Circle having been proposed for the post by Paul Daniels. He is Honorary Vice President of The British Magic Society, the UK's oldest Magic Club. He was awarded the title The Magic Circle Stage Magician of the Year in 2000. He mainly works as a magic consultant and illusion designer. He taught Woody Allen magic for his movie ''Scoop'' and advised on the Houdini movie '' Death Defying Acts'' (starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guy Pearce). He also built illusions for and appeared in the movie '' Magicians'' and tutored Sir Michael Caine and the young Bill Milner for the movie '' Is Anybody There?''. Other credits include designing, creating and building magic and illusions for UK TV shows such as '' QI'', ''Jonathan Creek'' and '' Hustle''. In the 2015 Christmas Special of ''QI'', Penrose surprised Stephen Fry with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1875 Works
Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third Class is renamed Second Class in 1956). * January 5 – The Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated as the home of the Paris Opera. * January 12 – Guangxu becomes the 11th Qing dynasty Emperor of China at the age of 3. He succeeds his cousin, the Tongzhi Emperor, who had no sons of his own. * January 14 – The newly proclaimed King Alfonso XII of Spain (Queen Isabella II's son) arrives in Spain to restore the monarchy during the Third Carlist War. * January 24 – Camille Saint-Saëns' orchestral ''Danse macabre'' receives its première. February * February 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Lácar – Carlist commander Torcuato Mendíri secures a brilliant victory, when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
